Joseph dela mar



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Letters Patent No. 62,321, dated February 26, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN HAT-BLOCKING MACHINES.

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Be it known that I, Jesi-:PH DE LA MAR, ot' Brooklyn, Kings county, State of New York, have invented new and'useful Improvements in Machines for `Blocking Hats; and I hereby declare that the following is a clear and exact description thereof', reference being had to the annexed drawings, in` which- Figure 1 is a vertical section ot' the machinel in a position as it requires to be wheat-he hat-body is placed upon it forblocking. e l 4 i Figure 2 is a vertical section of thc machine showing it in such a position as it has assumed after the hat has been stretched or blocked. i e

Figure 3 represents a plan view of ithe upper mechanism for stretching the crown, the ring for breaking band, and the lever Vfor working this ring.

Figure 4 shows a horizontal section in line a: :v of iig. 1.

Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8, are representations of some ofthe details of the machine.

My invention consists in constructing a machine which will form a hat from a `hat-body by stretching out the crown, drawing down the cylindrical part straight, and spreading out the brim,vsimultaneously or in sccessive operations, without removing the hat-body from themachine until it is completed.

A square table, a, with legs a', serves to support 'the machine. In the centre ofv this table is a vertical` tube, b, secured firmly in a hub at the bottom of the table, and a vertical rod, c, passes through this tube, being capable ci' sliding therein up and down. The upper end of this rod c bears a hub, c', which forms the common fulcrumV of a number of bars, d, which are placed around said hub.` The outer ends of these bars d are hinged to as many descending bars, e, and the lower ends of these bars e are again hinged to arms f, which radiate from a common hub,f, attached to the upper' end of tube b. Anotherset of arms, p, of-about the same length as those previously described, project' radially from a hub, gl, which is capable of sliding up and down on the tube b, and is held up by aspring, gl. To the outer ends of these arms g are jointed the clamps i, which are intended to clamp thc edge of the hat-body, and which are in an inclined position when the machine is ready to receive the hat-body. They rest upon a round plate, z', which can be moved up by a pair of levers, i, below the'table, which have their fulcr'a at i2 in the legs a of the machine, and. which have acommou handle, t, by i which they can be worked simultaneously. .Each of these bears against the lower end of one of two vertical l rods j secured to the lower side of the plate e', passing through the tablea, vdown to the levers t". By lifting 1. the handle i3, the plate z' is lifted, 4and the clamps L are brought up to a horizontal position as shown in fig. 2. There is another lever, lr, below the table, with a fulcrum at 7c', which serves to move the centre-bar cup, thereby forcing the bars e outandbriuging them into -aivertical position, as shown Vin fig. 2. In Aorder to block a hat the cent-re rod e is brought down, and also the plate z'. The parts will then have the position as shown in iig. 1; the clamps are then to be opened, and the hat-body, 'shown in red lines, .is placed over the expausible frame work, consisting of the bars d and e, and its edge, or that part which isl intended to form the brim, is inserted into the clamps h, which'are then to be fastened by an elastic ring, V11,.put around their upper jaws, for which purpose they are provided with ay shoulder, hl. Then a cylindrical ring, Z,`is put o ver the hat-body, 'which serves to break the band or the corner between the upright part of the hat and the brim, and this ring is forced downward by a forked lever, m, whosefulcra are at m1, attached to twouprights n, the ring having for this purpose two side projections, l', at opposite points, upon which the two sides of thelever bear. In the mean i time the clamps h are brought up to a horizontal position by means of raising the plate z', and at last the bars e are forced out by raising up the centre rod c.- Now the machine is in the position shown in iig. 2, `the hat is completed, and can be removed from the machine by opening the clamps and lifting the ring Z oft'. In order to insure an equal stretching all around at the corner of the crown, the bars e may be provided at their upper extremities with. shields, p, as shown'in figs; 5, 6, which ought to form a. segment of the circle lof the crown. A modification of' the means for closing and fastening the clamps to stretch the brim is shown in figs. 7, 8ig. i being a front bien', and iig. 8 au end view. It consists of u swivel, g, hinged at Ir,.to thelower jaw of the, clamp, and is forced over the upper jaw in order to fasten the felt. In order to adapt the machine to all sizes' and depths of hats, I propose to make some or all ofthe bars @Z e, and armsfand g, adjustable in length..

HavingV now fully described my invention, what I claim therein new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is l '.lhc combination of the expansible bars c, ring Z, and clamps h, constructed substantially as ,and for the purpose specified.

JOSEPH DE LA MAR,

' Witnesses:

JN0. D. MACGREGOR, ALBERI H. Hoon. 

